Published By: Gallery UK
Pages: 320
Released On: 19/11/2026
Michael has had a big life. A life of abundance and applause. But now he’s dead (or at least he’s pretty sure he is). He is given the chance to return – but it comes with a catch. He ends up back in a time he’d tried to forget.
He and his mum have been forced to start again after his dad’s death: new house, new school, no mates. Worse still, his mum has a new boyfriend, a man with suspiciously close-set eyes and the word ‘DRYWALL’ tattooed on his forearm. He mostly spends his time in his bedroom, drawing cars and making airfix models. Things seem hopeless.
But as the months pass, Michael slowly begins to find his place. Helped by new friendships and the unexpected kindness of his neighbour, Mr Graham, what starts as the worst year of Michael’s life might actually turn out to be the one that makes him. Life looks different second time around.
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery UK for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
I haven’t read any of Bob’s Satsuma Complex etc. series, although I do have a copy of book number one, so I had no prior knowledge of his writing. But like so many others, I have come to love his comedy and work on television.
I am used to him as a comedian, but this wasn’t a comic novel. It’s much deeper and intelligent and thought-provoking and yet doesn’t end up falling into that place where a story is too literary to be enjoyable.
I wonder how much of this was inspired by his own health issues, there’s definitely a personal passion to his words.
It wasn’t what I was expecting from the opening. I don’t want to spoil it so I won’t go into specifics, but the opening promise a sort of supernatural element but it’s a lot more normal, everyday. It still has that fantasy element which I liked as it helped break the story up, giving me something a bit different. It’s not OTT on the supernatural/fantasy elements but nor is it focussed solely on the literary element, it’s a nice combination of both. But I would have liked more of this fantasy edge that the synopsis suggests.
It’s not a particularly short book, not is it overly long, but it’s so effortless to read that it just flies by and I read it in just two sitting sone September Sunday.
It’s a thought-provoking book without being too heavy handed. It looks at what we want, what we wish we’d done, our relationships and friendships, our dreams, second chances, moving forward and looking back.
Our protagonist’s are an adult man and a boy. It can be difficult for adult readers to connect with a young character, but it worked. He’s well written and I think it works because we don’t cut off contact with our older character completely.
It dipped a little in the middle, got a bit slower, conversation-heavy and light on anything actually happening. But the beginning and end were strong enough to pick it up.
I did enjoy it. Like I said, I’ve not read his other books but I knew how gifted he is with language and comedy and whatnot. So it’s not a surprise that I found his general use of language to tell, what is quite a “normal” story, into something quite wonderful.
